The Thabet Organization for the Right of Return slammed on Tuesday the UNRWA for its decision to curtail medical assistance for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, calling for mass protests against such a new measure.

Thabet Organization described in a report the latest UNRWA decision as “unfair”, saying after affecting the refugee children’s academic career through similar decisions made last summer, the UNRWA is opting for decisions that would harm the refugees’ physical well-being.

According to the report, the UNRWA plans to implement a new hospitalization agenda that reduces aid. A patient, who used to pay 0% of the overall fees, will have to shell out 20% of the hospitalization expenses in private clinics, 15% in public hospitals, and 5% in Red Crescent hospitals.

The organization further spoke out against UNRWA’s intents to trim down the number of surgeries per every single month and to stop covering hospitalization fees of the naturalized refugees.

Thabet said such decisions are a serious escalation and a proof of disregard for the lives of Palestinian refugees.

The group called all representatives of Palestinian bodies and refugees in Lebanon to firmly rebuff the decision and stand up for their infringed rights, particularly their right to health care.

Thabet further dubbed such decisions "barefaced attempts" to mar Palestinians’ dream of the right of return, calling for mobilizing mass protest against the UNRWA decision.

The action group for the Palestinians of Syria said Friday that three Palestinian refugees were killed in Damascus countryside, one during armed clashes and two by projectile attacks.

The action group stated in a report that a Palestinian man was shot dead near Yalda town to the west of al-Yarmouk refugee camp during armed clashes between opposition groups and Daesh (ISIS) militants.

The victim was identified as Mohamed al-Kafri, a resident of al-Yarmouk refugee camp and a father of two girl children.

Two other Palestinian refugees were also killed during artillery attacks on Khan al-Sheikh refugee camp in Damascus countryside.

The UNRWA has renewed its appeal to financially support its winterization efforts for the impoverished Palestinian refugees in Syria, Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria.

The UNRWA pointed to the miserable humanitarian situation which the vulnerable Palestinian refugees face during the winter season and the need to raise funds to support its winterization efforts, including shelter repairs, and the provision of food and cash assistance.

The UN organization in early December launched its annual winter fundraising campaign for the Palestinian refugees titled "Share your warmth".

The campaign, which will last until the end of February 2016, aims to raise two million US dollars to help the refugees endure the coming months.

Yesterday, the European Commission announced an additional €10 million in support to UNRWA, in order to keep schools open, and to maintain core services for Palestinian refugees..

According to the official press release, this contribution, which comes in addition to the €10 million granted in October, brings the 2015 EU support for UNRWA’s General Fund up to €102 million.

Additional support to the Palestinian Authority totalling €1.525 million has also been provided by Austria (€1.5 million) and Portugal (€25,000) through the PEGASE mechanism. This facility allows Member States, in partnership with the EU, to provide assistance in a coherent and cost-effective manner directly to the Palestinian Authority.

The High Representative Federica Mogherini said, according to PNN:

“UNRWA is doing invaluable work with the Palestinian children whose experience has been marked too often by war, violence, displacement and insecurity. Thanks to UNRWA, their right to go to school and build a better future for themselves and the region can be guaranteed. The EU will continue to stand by UNRWA as it provides Palestine refugees not only with critical quality services, but also with stability and hope for the future in very difficult circumstances“.

“I am delighted that more Member States are joining the EU PEGASE mechanism in support of the Palestinians. Today’s additional funds will benefit the most vulnerable Palestinian families, which remain in dire need of assistance. I am also happy to announce the additional €10 million EU contribution, thanks to which UNRWA will be able to keep schools open and provide Palestinian refugees with access to health and social services”.

Background:

Most of the EU’s assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is channelled through PEGASE Direct Financial Support. The PEGASE mechanism has the advantage of being secure, carefully checked with complete ex-ante and ex-post audits and is available free of charges for any donor.

Through PEGASE, the EU has contributed substantially to the recurrent expenditure of the Palestinian national budget (over €1.7 billion since its launching in 2008), with systematic, predictable and unconditional contributions to the payment of civil servant’s salaries and pensions and of social allowances to the poorest and most vulnerable Palestinians families. Through the programme for East Jerusalem hospitals set-up in 2013, the EU provides crucial support to avoid the collapse of those hospitals, which are amongst the few remaining Palestinian institutions in East Jerusalem and are providing key medical services to the Palestinian population.

The EU is the largest multilateral donor of international assistance to Palestine refugees, providing support to UNRWA since 1971. Between 2007 and 2014, the EU contributed over €1 billion ($1.44 billion) in support of UNRWA, including €809 million for the Agency’s core programmes and services. In addition, the EU has generously contributed to UNRWA humanitarian emergency appeals and projects in response to various crises and specific needs across the region.

The Action Group for Palestinians of Syria said about 3064 Palestinian refugees have died since the break out of the Syrian conflict in March, 2011.

About 1053 were killed by the Syrian regime shelling, 678 were killed in clashes with the Syrian army and the armed opposition and 423 refugees died of torture in Syrian jails.

A report issued on Monday by the Action Group showed that the Syrian forces targeted the road connecting Khan al-sheikh refugee camp to Zakiya town near Damascus by heavy machinegun fire with no casualties reported.

It is noteworthy that the mentioned road is the only pathway left for the residents of Khan al-Sheikh camp to reach Damascus after the closure of all other ways by the Syrian army barriers which force Palestinian refugees to take that too risky road.

A Palestinian refugee in Lebanon burned himself and his car in Beirut Monday morning in protest against being stopped by Lebanese police who fined him despite his too bad economic condition. Local sources revealed that the Palestinian refugee was identified as Amin Salah Sukkar. He was transferred to hospital in Beirut sustaining injuries in his chest, back, neck and hands.

The wife of refugee Sukkar told Quds Press that Lebanese police stopped her husband and asked for licence and registration and told him as a refugee he is not allowed to drive a taxi.

The policemen asked him to get out of the taxi and issued him a penalty of $3000 which made him immediately set fire to himself and to the car, she elaborated.

Lebanese rules forbid Palestinian refugees from driving taxis and impose very heavy fines on those who violate the rules.

A Hamas delegation met on Thursday UNRWA’s Director-General in Lebanon, Matthias Shamali, over the tragic situation of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

The Hamas delegation, headed by the group’s representative in Lebanon, Ali Baraka, popped in Shamali’s office in Beirut as part of intents to keep tabs on the situation of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

Both parties discussed the reconstruction of the Nahar al-Bard refugee camp and the possible means to secure the needed financial resources.

The Hamas delegation called on the UNRWA to urgently appeal to Arab and international states to secure the reconstruction resources and shell out rent fees for the homeless refugee families.

The delegation further called for rallying around Palestinian refugees fleeing to Lebanon from war-torn Syria.

Hamas delegates spoke out against the sharp decline in UNRWA’s aid in the education sector and overcrowding in the schools sponsored by the agency.

Action Group for Palestinians of Syria declared that 29 Palestinian refugees in Syria were killed last October.

12 Palestinian refugees were killed by bullets, 3 due to torture in Syrian regime jails, 7 due to shelling and clashes, 2 in field executions, 1 due to siege and another by burning to death, the group elaborated.

The Action Group issued a report on Monday, in which it pointed out that 8 of the Palestinians were killed in Damascus and its countryside and 10 others in various areas, bringing the number of the Palestinian refugees who were killed in the ongoing war in Syria to 3,057.

The report stated that Palestinians in refugee camps in Syria are suffering from maltreatment, shelling, bombardment, pollution, ignorance and electricity cut off for long periods and complaining about lack of petrol and food supplies in addition to high prices of goods and products.